Comments

Taylor and Volante are both undefeated, both world champions, and have both defended more than once, great match up.

Taylor should be the favourite for a few reasons, she has the bigger name, she has two belts, both fighters had good amateur careers, both competed internationally, both won medals, but Taylor is a two-time Olympian, won gold in 2012 and lost very controversially in 2016 (wasn't the only Irish boxer to get robbed) fought in more tournaments, won 6 medals in world tournaments, so Volante's amateur career was decent, but nothing like Taylor's. Taylor is fairly old at 32, but Volante is 36, which is very old for a lightweight.

Volante has slightly more height and reach than Taylor, but both are career lightweights, and there isn't much of a size difference.

There is no record on BoxRec of either fighter being dropped, so they probably have decent chins.

Volante does have the higher KO percentage, with 57%, Taylor has stopped 42%, they haven't fought the same level overall, but Volante might be the puncher in this fight, Taylor is not a non-puncher, and she stopped Connor with a good, sustained onslaught of clean punches, but in her last fight, she looked fantastic, but she seemed frustrated that she could everything but get the stoppage, the only thing she didn't manage to do was generate the power to stop her opponent.

Volante won the WBO title at the end of 2017, in a very close fight, she edged out Brenda Karen Carabajal (13-3), a good win, and she has had two dominant defences, stopped very heavy Lourdes Borbua (8-0) in 5 rounds, and in her last fight, she stopped Yolis Marrugo Franco (22-9) in a 2-3 round mismatch. I think Taylor has fought the better opposition overall, I think Bustos, Wahlstrom are better than any of Volante's previous opponents. Volante has had a couple of fights more than Taylor has had, but she has not done more rounds, she has not fought the better opponents, and Taylor has been in double the world title fights, she's also been in a unification bout before, so overall, as well as being younger, you would have to say Taylor is the more experienced fighter.

An interesting question is whether Volante is anything Taylor hasn't seen before, she is Taylor's first opponent who is unbeaten and also a world champion, because Wahlstrom didn't have a title, and Bustos was not undefeated, but I don't think Volante is anything Taylor hasn't seen before in terms of experience and pedigree.

It depends on how good a relatively untested Volante is, but I think Volante might be Taylor's toughest opponent since Jessica McCaskill, might give her, her toughest fight so far, but I definitely think Taylor will win, and it won't be close.

Taylor will probably have her mind set on the stoppage, but she shouldn't get carried away, because that's a dangerous game. If Taylor is winning every round, is the only woman in it, like her last 2 fights, but she just can't put her opponent down, she will probably try to go the extra mile for the stoppage, but as well as nit being a puncher, there are things which work against her when it comes to trying to stop her opponent, I think the fact that are no rounds 11 and 12 in women's boxing, but more so the fact that is no third minute in the rounds, more so.

I think this will be a decent fight, but Taylor will win a very clear, fairly one sided UD, maybe 97-93 on average.

Fair enough, but I don't see it. She is fighting in a division very few Women make. There are 33 female MWs listed on boxrec and she has had a few performances I haven't been impressed with. Don't get me wrong, Shields is good female boxer and I'm glad she gives US representation in female boxing, but I think her and Hammer are a level below Taylor/Braekhus.